Mail-in Campaign For Reform Party Bid Could Jump-start The ``doonesbury'' Character's Presidential Bandwagon.

It has been three months since the drug-addled, chain-smoking ``Doonesbury'' comic strip character announced his bid for the Reform Party's presidential nomination. In today's strip in the Comics section, Zonker's uncle asks supporters to mail in a straw-poll ballot to Reform Party headquarters in Dallas.

``Make them feel the love for my candidacy,'' Duke urges. The ballot includes a large check box for Duke, ``the Ted Williams of politics,'' and a tiny check box for Pat Buchanan, ``the John Rocker of politics.''

Gerry Moan, who two weeks ago succeeded Pat Choate as Reform Party chairman, is taking the Duke candidacy in stride.

``Duke seems like a great American,'' wisecracked Moan, a Tucson business executive in a phone interview. ``He is totally welcome to vie for our nomination. There needs to be a lot more levity in politics.''

Moan warned, however, that Duke may have to change campaign tactics if he really wants the Reform Party nomination.

``We don't take kindly to negative campaigning, whether internally or with other parties' candidates.''

But in Duke's case, what's negative? His creator, Garry Trudeau, has called him a ``scumbag.'' In one recent strip, after Duke hears a scathing description of Pat Buchanan that includes his alleged ``bigoted statements'' and admiration for Hitler, Duke sighs and says of his Reform Party opponent, ``I don't see where he's vulnerable.''

Sarasota attorney David Goldman, the Reform Party's Florida chairman, is a ``Doones-bury'' fan who has spent time at the official Web site for the Duke campaign, duke2000.com

Goldman said he enjoys the political satire, but he doubted the party's nomination process would be affected by the Duke campaign.

``I'm probably the exception [among party members) that I even know about it. If you asked most people who Uncle Duke was, they'd think it had something to do with a college basketball program.''

The candidate himself displays huge gaps in his knowledge. In an exclusive interview with The Orlando Sentinel, conducted via e-mail with the help of Trudeau, the self-styled ``compassionate fascist'' drew a blank on basic questions such as how old he was or what schools he went to. ``I was in a fraternity, so I assume that means I attended college or at least lived near one.''

He was more forthcoming when asked to name his role models: Erwin Rommel, Caligula and Pete Rose, ``for the three games he let me in on.''

Duke does reveal he is old enough to run for president, since he was appointed governor of American Samoa in the 1970s. His other credentials - according to the FBI file posted on duke2000.com - include serving a year as U.S. ambassador to China, another year as coach of the Washington Redskins, a brief stint as an adviser to David Duke, ``a cousin,'' and a bodyguard for Oliver North during his 1994 Senate campaign.

Ambassador Duke is not the first ``Doonesbury'' character to run for office. In the 1970s, Virginia Slade ran unsuccessfully for Congress, with the seat eventually taken by Lacey Davenport. Davenport was a recurring character in the strip until 1998, when she died of Alzheimer's. And Jack Tanner, although not a ``Doonesbury'' character, was a Trudeau invention, running for president in a 1988 HBO miniseries written by the cartoonist.

Trudeau's past fictional campaigns did not employ mail-in ballots, however. Moan, the Reform Party chairman, said his group was prepared to handle whatever mail comes into its Dallas office as a result of today's ``Doonesbury'' strip.

Reform Pary members will begin voting for their favorite presidential candidate, via mail or the Internet, on July 1. The results will be announced at the party's nominating convention in mid-August.

The party has not received an intent-to-run letter from Duke, which is required of would-be presidential nominees, Moan said. However, write-in votes are allowed.

``If Duke wins, then we'll have to go to Plan B, whatever that is,'' Moan said. ``Maybe it will be, `Oops, he didn't send his letter in.'''